The present invention relates generally to photographic apparatus and, more particularly to distributed photographic systems for taking self portraits which are user actuated to capture an image when the user strikes a desired pose. If the user accepts the image then the image is transmitted to a remote print station.
Coin operated photofinishing booths having fixed lens cameras for taking self portraits are well known. Such prior art photofinishing booths take a series of photographs or a single photograph of an individual or group of individuals sitting in a booth at a fixed location in front of the camera. The photographs are then developed in the booth and dispensed to the user. The booth serves to constrain the position and poses of the user as well as limiting the number of persons within the field of view. Illustrative systems of such automatic photography equipment can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,820,133; 3,864,708; 4,072,973; 4,089,017; 4,738,526; and 5,017,953. These prior art photofinishing booths show the use of coin actuated self-developing equipment which do not allow for a user to be able to choose a particular image to be printed before it is rendered onto a hard-copy medium. Further, since they are fully automated there is also no attendant nearby to monitor proper treatment and operation of the system. Additionally, such photofinishing booths are fully integrated and are, therefore, very expensive. They require the booth itself, mechanical systems for receiving money and giving appropriate change, along with the photographic and developing systems. And with such multiple systems, there are multiple points of failure. When one or more of these systems does fail, again there is no attendant available to make such repairs easily because they are completely automated booths.
Other commercially available systems for taking portrait photographs include distributed systems that have separate video cameras and video monitors. Some of these distributed systems do allow an operator to choose an image captured by a video camera before it is printed. However, those systems require the operator to videophotograph a subject and to make subjective decisions as to which frame should be printed. These systems are also inefficient in terms of time in that the operator must wait while the subject readies himself and poses and must then capture the image. If the image is unacceptable, then the process must be repeated thus wasting both people's time. Along with these disadvantages, this type of distributed system requires the operator to constantly monitor and utilize the equipment and simply allows the subject no active participation other than to be photographed.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a low-cost photographic system for taking self-portraits.
It is another object of this invention to limit a need for operator participation and allow a user to actively interact with the photographic system to choose a frame to be printed upon hard-copy media.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a distributed system which allows a remote operator to govern operation of the system such that a user cannot tamper with the photographic system.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a self-service photographic system which is operable by a user but is distributed such that a local operator is available when needed to handle occasional problems within the system.
These and other objects of the invention will be obvious and will appear hereinafter.